


Across The Stars

by Write_Eat_Sleep_Repeat



Series: OC Inserts [2]
Category: Doctor Who
Genre: And ONLY The Doctor can save the day!, Caring, Foster Care, How angry do you think Megan gets?, I just changed the names subtley, I promise, If no-one reads this then it's chill, It'll get better, It's got 27 children in it, Megalomaniac Alien Princes FTW, Orphans, References to Oral Sex, Stalking, The high school may or may not be based on my school...., The stories may have an inkling of truth to them, i really can't tag
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-09
Updated: 2017-02-27
Packaged: 2018-04-30 17:48:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5173442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Write_Eat_Sleep_Repeat/pseuds/Write_Eat_Sleep_Repeat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Doctor is the last of the timelords, but not the last of the Gallifreyans. This is the story of one of the few children saved before the Time War.</p><p>Originaly posted onto FF.net. Rated for language.</p><p>((((Currently pausing updates, due to writers block and revision of direction))))</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> This originally crashed and burned, but then I've been redoing it and I think it's doing alright so far. Bear with me on this.

Space is endless. No-one has seen either the end nor the start of it and no-one knows how it was created. Some planets are far more advanced than others; there's a civilisation of nothing more than something resembling the first animals to grow legs on earth, and it's neighbouring planet is much more up the evolutionary scale than humans (though it _is_ by their standards). Earth is but a small blip, an atom, on the vast map of the universe that is expanding all the time. No-one will reach the edge of the universe, nor see its destruction, but there are some that have tried, and have come to the conclusion that it will never end, just like pi. One of these species is the Galefrayans. Galefrayans, as juding by their name, come from the planet Gallifray which was sadly destroyed in the Time War against the Daleks, created by Davros. There are very few Galefrayans left from the Time War, and one of those is called The Doctor. He is the Last of the Timelords, yes, but not of the Galefrayans. There **is** a difference; a Timelord is a higher rank than a simple Galefrayan, like a lord and a civilian. So this age old man, who has seen the end of thousands of planets and has saved twice as many, is not as alone as he thinks. There is one other, who is just as adventurous as he is but is much more naïve than he has ever been, and she lives on earth without the knowledge that she is who she is. There is so much more that she could see if she just allowed herself to acknowledge that her intense knowledge is not just hard work.


	2. The most average day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A normal school day for Lizzie, a special discovery for The Doctor, and a dark plot by an alien prince.

“Time to wake up.” Megan called upstairs. Lizzie grumbled and rolled out of bed. She checked her phone for the time, even though she had an alarm clock that was easier to check, and rushed to quickly have a shower before anyone else got up (she was always one of the first up). When she came out, drying herself on a light green towel that looked like it was made of boogers, she rushed to her room and put her uniform on, struggling with tying the tie before sighing, throwing it to the side and getting the clip-on tie instead. One day, she swore to herself, she will be able to tie that goddamned tie and then…She’ll be able to tie ties. Her hair was still wet so she tried drying it as well as she could with the booger-towel, rubbing her head roughly with it. When she pulled the towel off her head, her hair was still slightly damp and was fluffing up like a hairy cloud of blondeness so she dragged a brush through it a few times and put it up in a ponytail before grabbing her glasses and rushing downstairs.

When she got to the bottom of the steps she had to step back as two children ran past her, Karrie reaching out to try and catch Olive while the younger girl laughed and dodged out of her grip. Lizzie walked into the kitchen just in time for the toast to pop out of the toaster and into the hands of June, who promptly dropped them “Getting better at it.” Lizzie remarked as she walked over and took one of the pieces of toast, quickly spreading butter and blackberry jam across it and taking a bite. It was a perfect slice of toast, not burnt and the butter just made it soft, and she almost groaned at the utter perfection. She grabbed a Capri-Sun from the large selection, blackcurrant, and speared the straw through the top before drinking it in three long sips and biting the toast again. She took care to not get the jam on her face, failing miserably, and threw the Capri-Sun in the bin when she’d finished it. She had about half a slice of toast left so folded it in half and shoved the whole thing in her mouth before getting a square of kitchen roll and wetting it. She wiped her blackberry-smile away and turned just as the rest of the rabble ran in, a whole gang of children and teenagers fighting to get the best food. Lizzie smiled as she saw Benny take the last slice of toast and crawl under the table, so she followed him under and saw he was feeding the soft crust to his pet mouse that no-one knew about but Lizzie.  Benny smiled widely as Lizzie held out a Capri-sun for him and a small bottle-lid full of water for the mouse.  
“Thank you.” He whispered and Lizzie smiled back before crawling out from under the table and scuttling from the kitchen quickly. She got her bag and jacket from the large almost-room of over 20 other bags and coats and then went to the kitchen again.  
“Bye all!” She called and got a mix of ‘Bye, Goodbye, See ya’ and other assorted farewells as she turned and left.

Living in a foster home wasn’t really that bad, Lizzie thought, it was like having a huge sleepover constantly. There were, in all, 27 children in the foster home including Lizzie. Lizzie was one of the eldest, at 14 years old, and she’d given up hope of ever being fostered or adopted. Teenagers are the hardest to find a home for, apparently. But she loved it. The foster home was called ‘Summerwater’, which almost every child loved because it sounded magical, and Lizzie traced the edge of the sign almost lovingly as she walked past it.

All the teenagers went to the same high school but Lizzie preferred walking alone, which some people understood, because it helped her compose her thoughts “Lizzie!” A voice said over footsteps pounding against the pebbled driveway of the foster home. Lizzie turned and saw 11 year old Grace York running over, her red hair flowing in the wind behind her. The blonde girl smiled and waited until Grace had caught up to start walking again. Grace had just started high school, and she seemed very fond of Lizzie so it wasn't a surprise that she'd run over to the elder girl "Hey Lizzie."  
"You ok Grace?" Lizzie smiled, texting Megan to tell her that Grace was coming with her.  
"Yea, I'm fine. Why're you walking out so early?" Grace asked energetically.  
"I like walking around before going to school." Lizzie explained "Especially when it's this nice a day." Grace nodded and the two girls walked in silence towards the park.

They sat on the swings and Grace immediately started swinging as high as she could while Lizzie just people-watched. An old couple walking around just for the hell of it, a few hung-over college students regretting the idea of a Sunday party, a group of young men catcalling several women who ignored them and sped past them. There was someone that she noticed who looked pretty weird. He was walking around with a girl, probably his girlfriend, following him around while he babbled; he was wearing an old-man shirt and a freaking bowtie. Lizzie smiled at the sight of them and carried on looking around while Grace nervously checked the time every three minutes.  
"I think we should get going." Grace said after ten minutes, almost vibrating with her nervous jitters. Lizzie nodded and stood up, setting off out of the park by volleying a few low gates. Grace managed to catch up, a little out of breath, and they walked to school with Grace chattering and Lizzie answering questions or imputing her view on things. Just before walking through the gates, Lizzie was pushed by someone as they walked past.  
"Sorry." She said on instinct, though it wasn't her fault.  
"I should be saying that, it was my fault." The man said. He looked pretty energetic and his eyes were bright. It was the bow-tied man from the park "Sorry."  
"It's fine." Lizzie smiled nervously before walking into school.

* * *

"We must find the Gallifreyan." A high-pitched voice said, making the commander nod.  
"I understand, My Prince." She replied "I will find it."  
"And bring it to me."  
"Yes, My Prince." She nodded and, with a salute to the royal, turned and left.

* * *

Lizzie sat down in class and smiled at her friend Ryan as he sat in front of her. The boy turned in his chair to face her and she leaned forwards slightly so they could speak to each other properly "Hey Liz. How are ya?"  
"Cool, you?"  
"Eh." Ryan said, shrugging and then taking his phone out to show Lizzie a video he'd taken "Look at this."  
"What is it?" Lizzie asked, rising in her seat slightly to look at the video. There was a large group of people, Ryan obviously in the front 'row', and there were three people in the middle, two of them beating on the tougher looking one "Who are they?"  
"Guy in the middle is Ryan E, ya know him right?" Lizzie nodded once "That's Ahmed and that's Kay. Ryan told 'em he wanted a fight with 'em, separately of course, and they just decided to take 'im down a peg or two by fightin' 'im in the park." Lizzie sighed as the video ended and Ryan pocketed his phone.  
"A lot happens in that park, doesn't it?" The girl asked, making Ryan nod "How many fights this year?"  
"Five." Ryan smirked and turned to look at Lizzie "And Jo C blew Lou K in the bushes."  
"When?!" Lizzie asked in intrigue, though not really caring much.  
"Like, last month."  
"Is that why she left?" The girl smiled, a small laugh bubbling up in her throat.  
"Yea." Ryan smiled right back at her "She was boastin' and' everyone found out about it so she got really upset about it an' left."  
"Her own dumb fault for boasting." Lizzie muttered just before the door opened and a woman who wasn't their English teacher walked in.  
"Hello class. I'm here as a substitute for Mr Green." She smiled sweetly and Lizzie sighed as she sat back, waiting for the class to end already.

It wasn't like Lizzie was a bad student, or the work was too hard. Quite the opposite really. It was too easy, too boring, so she usually hung around with the kids who did nothing at all, just so she could talk with people after she'd done all her work. She never let them copy off her, which she felt was yet another point in her favour. When she wasn't talking to the other teens, she was just daydreaming about strange fantastical things that were like straight out of a sci-fi movie; A planet with three suns and fields of crimson grass, snow-capped mountains, brown lakes, trees with silver leaves, and grey clouds, the buildings looking like churches encased in large domes. To her, it sounded both ridiculous and beautiful and she thought hardly anything of it, other than just an overactive imagination.

* * *

Earlier

"So, who is it we're looking for, Doctor?" Clara asked, following after the bow-tied man.  
"I don't know." He said in his usual way, excited beyond all belief "But I'll know when I see her."  
"If you don't know who it is, how will you know when you see them?" Clara asked and the Doctor paused in his steps.  
"Fair point." He said before continuing again "I'll know, because I'll feel it. The message sent to the TARDIS said I'd feel it; it'll feel like walking straight into a wall and I'll just know." Neither of them noticed the two girls almost at the gates of the school they were passing, until the Doctor bumped against the blonde one's side.  
"Sorry." She said on instinct, though it wasn't her fault.  
"I should be saying that, it was my fault." He said, a large smile on his face as he looked into turquoise eyes "Sorry."  
"It's fine." The girl smiled nervously before walking with her friend into school.  
"It'd feel like that?" Clara asked, just jokingly, and The Doctor's face fell to slight wonderment.  
"Exactly like that." He muttered. Clara looked from the still pondering Doctor to the retreating form of the teenager.  
"Her? Are you sure?" The Doctor nodded and then looked up to see that the blonde had walked into the school.  
"It's her." He said in utter certainty.  
"Then we have to go to her." Clara said with sudden urgency but the Doctor turned and looked at her with a slight doubtful glare.  
"And what?"  
"Warn her." Clara said as though it was obvious.  
"And tell her what?" The black-haired girl deflated and sighed "The truth? Go up to her and say 'Hello, you have no idea who I am but you have to trust me and come into my magical blue box so that you aren't killed by a power crazed megalomaniac who wants to literally display your internal organs as party decorations on his birthday'?" Clara glared at him.  
"Ok, I get it." She sighed "Warning her won't actually work. So, what do we do?”  
“Find out who she is, and then make sure she’s safe. We can’t let her die.”


	3. An outcast in the outcasts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor comes up with a plan, The Prince wants to counter this, and Lizzie sits on the fence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writer's block is a bitch, huh? Anyway, back to the story. Same day as the last chapter. This is just a filler really, showing more about Lizzie's dysfunctional little life.

Whoever this substitute was, she had hardly any idea how to teach. For one, she didn't know how to pronounce the easiest of the Muslim names (Seriously, Abbas isn't that hard to say) and for two, she didn't have a clue what they were learning. Lizzie put her hand up while everyone was trying to remember what stuff they blanked out last lesson, making 'Ms Klark' smile at her "Yes?" She asked and Lizzie put her hand down, leaning on her desk, as she answered.  
"Isn't the lesson plan cellotaped on the table?" She sighed, not even a proper question, and Ms Klark turned to see that the lesson plan was, as always with Mr Green, cellotaped to the table.  
"So it is. Thank you..." She left the sentence open for Lizzie to say her name, which was actually useless to do since this teacher probably wouldn't remember it.  
"Elizabeth. Or Lizzie, I prefer Lizzie."  
"Thank you Lizzie." Ms Klark smiled and Lizzie returned the smile pathetically. Seriously, you have to be blind not to notice that paper "So, you're doing exam prep?" The woman asked rhetorically as she read through the section dedicated to Lizzie's class "Mocks next week. Poor you." She laughed a bit and Lizzie sat back, Ryan looking at her with a slight confused look at how weird he thought the substitute was. Then again, he hadn't been in Lizzie's class once when they were learning physics. That guy was just weird. She forgot his name, but he was very eccentric and spent quite a bit of time with the dinner lady. She never saw those two after the school had a gas leakage and exploded a bit. Everyone acted weird. The teachers gave her weird looks after she ate the chips. But that was a different school, a different time.

Anyways.

Ms Klark handed out the papers that the teens were practicing, because Mr Green was very much pushing the revision on them. Lizzie didn't get why, since the real exams were over a year away and the other teachers were letting them chill out a bit before their summer break. Not Mr Archer, her science teacher, because they were behind a few lessons. It was only the teacher's fault though, because he took fortnights off at a time and never showed up for after-school lessons. Lizzie, naturally, finished the paper first with little difficulty and handed it to a slightly shocked Ms Klark for her to mark. Just two marks off, because she'd misspelt a few things in her semi-rush to get it over with. When she sat back down in her place, putting her feet against the gap in the back of Ryan's chair so that he turned from doing hardly anything, she sat back and sighed softly while Ryan spoke about nonsense and girls and which girl didn't have a gag reflect (Morgan, apparently, but that wasn't a surprise).

* * *

"No." Clara said and The Doctor sighed.  
"Why not?" He asked and Clara made rapid hand gestures of 'Obvious'.  
"Because. These are teenagers. I can't teach teenagers, not _that_ old!"  
"I'm sure they'll love you." The Doctor sighed as he walked around the TARDIS and grabbed a few psychic papers.  
"How am I meant to deal with teenagers?"  
"I don't know, do I?" The Doctor sighed and waved his hands a bit in confusion as he spoke "Talk about...Pop stars and texting and TOWIE, or whatever. Whatever teenagers like."  
"O...K...And while I'm off doing that, where will you be?"  
"Lizzie Brookshore." The Doctor said, turning the console screen around to him "14 years old, approximately. Highest grades in her whole school, A and A* across the board, hardly ever in trouble. All in all, a Mary Sue. If you cut out the part where she's in the rejects circle." Clara looked slightly confused but, as always, the Doctor carried on with his babble "Current Residence; Summerwater Orphanage." Clara's eyes widened a bit. Stereo-typically, an orphan teenager is terrible at school and hates everyone so it seems Lizzie is different "It's housing 27 children between the ages of 4 and 15 and is run by only one person." He looked at Clara and smiled a bit "I'll be _there_." Clara had to admit, it wasn't a bad idea to check up on her in two separate places "And anyway, what are you fussing about?" He asked suddenly, catching Clara off guard "You won't be teaching them. You'll be a...guidance counselor, according to this." He was looking at a sheet of psychic paper which would hold their fake credentials. Clara frowned a bit. She wasn't sure which she'd prefer. Death by disrespect or death by teenage angst.

* * *

English dragged on in a slow haze of Ryan going on about how he was **so** failing the mocks and how he better go and tell McDonalds that they'd be getting a new employee and how he was going to have Laura coming over that night *wink*. Seriously, that kid was perverted on a whole new level. So anyway. Lizzie walked out of class with a high-five to Ryan, who had to stay behind for shouting out some smartass comment, and went to her usual spot in the field on school grounds. She put her hair up in a ponytail and looked around at all the small groups of 'subtle' smokers who were scattered around. Lia Kale and her group of peons were talking to a couple of year eights, probably selling them cigarettes for 20p a cig as always. The Asian girl looked over and hurried over to Lizzie when she'd finished her 'transaction' with the 12 year olds "Hey Lizzie." She greeted, doing her usual high-five/shoulder bump as always "Want any?"  
"How many ya sell to the little'ns?"  
"Two each for three of 'em." Lizzie laughed a bit.  
"I'll just have four." She said and handed 60p over -she got a friend discount of 5p a cig- as Lia got out the four cigs. Lizzie put them into her pocket and Lia smiled.  
"As always, it's a pleasure." The Asian did the same high-five/shoulder bump with a small kiss on Lizzie's cheek before walking off. Just as Lizzie was getting bored, Kelsie Johnson walked over with a smile.  
"You rushed out this mornin'." She said as she leant against the wooden fence that had been put up. Lizzie took out one of the cigarettes and held it out to Kelsie, who took it instantly with a small 'thank you' and lit it.

Kelsie was Lizzie's age, in the troublemaker classes, and was also in Summerwater like the blonde. Unlike Lizzie, she hadn't been in Summerwater since before she could remember but neither girl were sure which of them had it better; Lizzie who couldn't remember her family and the reason they didn't want/need her so was forever left wondering, or Kelsie who knew exactly why her mum didn't want her and was forever left hating. Her mum was a bit of a slut, which Kelsie herself admits, and chose her paedophilic boyfriend over her own child.

"Yea, I know." Lizzie smiled a bit and sat on the fence, careful not to shift about and get splinters in her ass "I just wanted to get out before the stampede, ya know?" Kelsie nodded.  
"I hear ya." She muttered as she took a drag of the cigarette "Ya wan' a drag?" She asked and held it out to Lizzie, who shook her head.  
"I supply 'em. I don't try the merchandise." She joked with a small laugh and Kelsie nodded with a chuckle "So, what's new with you?"  
"Well, for one, Jones has gotta fuck off." The short-haired girl said with a glare to the grass below her feet "Bitch thinks I need to go to a professional anger-management therapist."  
"Well, you **did** flip Lucy over the table and punch her in the face, like, two days ago."  
"She fucking deserved it." Kelsie said defensively and then someone caught her eye "Speak of the devil." She smiled and waved Lucy over.  
"Hey guys." She smiled and Lizzie handed her a cigarette. Kelsie lit it for the new arrival and Lucy took a long drag "What's been happenin'?"  
"Jones needs a kick in the mouth." Elizabeth said and Lucy nodded.  
"True. Hey, did ya hear about Morgan?" She asked excitedly.  
"No gag reflex?" Lizzie asked in soft boredom "Yep."  
"What's she thinking, spreading that about? She's gonna end up like Jo if she ain't careful." Kelsie laughed.  
"But she's got a better rep than Jo." Lizzie said. She only engaged in this kind of gossip because she had nothing else to do, and she secretly loved hearing about the drama because hardly anything happened in her little bubble of the world "Jo was that weird girl who writes porn about her friends. Morgan's a popular girl, albeit not in the right circle to be totally immune." Lucy nodded in understanding and sighed out another lungful of smoke.  
"I guess. Where _is_ Jo now anyway?" The bleached-blonde looked around, like Jo would just pop up.  
"Home-schooled, last I heard." Kelsie sighed and Lizzie nodded.  
"'pparently." She mumbled and then jumped off the fence "Right, I'm gonna go find Connor and see if Ryan's shown himself yet."  
"Cig service?" Kelsie chuckled and Lizzie winked.  
"You know it." And she walked off to find the buzz-cut buffoon that was their friend Connor.

* * *

The prince waited impatiently for his general to come back, twitching his foot and breathing deeply in slight frustration "Finally!" He cried when his general re-entered "Do you have news?"  
"There has been a flaw in your plan, my prince." The younger creature glared.  
"What do you mean, a flaw?"  
"I mean...There's another Gallifreyan, my prince, and he may be there to save yours." The prince growled in frustration and looked back to his small throne-like chair "What shall we do?"  He sighed and his muscles relaxed.  
"We'll just have to kill him."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These will get better, I hope. I mean, I know they will.


	4. To kill a Gallifreyan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lizzie helps out, The Doctor gets closer, and a stalker is in our midst

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no excuse for my lateness other than I suck.

The general walked out of the prince's room and towards a handful of the almost insufficient squadron of powerful soldiers that she'd gathered in the small amount of time that the young prince had ordered her to "What are we doing about the Gallifreyan?" One soldier asked and the general sighed.  
"Kill the older one, bring the girl to our prince."  
" **Kill** a Gallifreyan?" A different soldier scoffed "How are we meant to kill a _Gallifreyan_?" The general glared at him.  
"Find a way." Then she left to her quarters and the second soldier scoffed yet again.  
"Find a way." He mocked while pulling a face, rolling his eyes and turning back to his friends.

* * *

 All the children came back from school and Megan was, as always, overrun with it all. She had to make sure they were doing their homework, get Timmy away from the taps in the bathroom, find Faith and Kirk, stop Jacob from stabbing Isabelle with a pencil, and then they needed their tea. She'd been running this place for years, 16 to be exact, with her parents at her sides for the first few years before Dad got dementia and both her parents had to have specialised care that Megan couldn't do when looking after so many children. Helpers had wandered in and out, only staying for a handful of months before moving on, but this was the longest time she hadn't had help at all. It was the worst time to be alone, with Kelsie rebelling over everything that she had in her life and Tabby in her GCSE year and Grace and Jim still getting used to highschool and every child having difficulties in some portion of their life. Really, there weren't that many problems with behaviour. Most of them were little trouble, even if Lizzie did hang around the wrong people, but Kelsie was...a whole new level. As always, Megan had an advertisement up in every place she could afford to ask for help but no-one had come up. It was hard, both finding help and dealing with so many children. She tried more than she ever could, and they managed.  
"Lizzie, where's Kel?" Megan asked when the headcount, after finding Faith and Kirk hiding in Chase's bedroom, showed that there was one missing. Lizzie didn't look up from her homework as she shrugged and made a 'i dunno' noise "Lizzie, tell me." The woman said in her stern way that intimidated even Kel. Liz, however, was immune to it by now.  
"I said I don't know, so that means I don't know." She sassed and Megan sighed. She had raised this girl, so she knew when she was lying. Always either not verbally answering or getting overly defensive, both of which she'd just done.  
"I'll ask Grace then." Megan turned to Grace but, before either of them could speak, Lizzie sighed heavily.  
"She's in the park." She pouted "Smoking, probably, with that lot."  
"And you're not joining them?" Megan asked. Lizzie turned her beautiful sea-blue eyes to her carer with a slightly confused look.  
"I have homework." She said simply and then went back to doing her homework as such. Megan never did understand Lizzie much. Rather than stay behind the school and smoke or do whatever with her friends or try and get a boyfriend, Lizzie would stay back in school doing extra homework. Might just be how Megan raised her, but then again she raised Kel for a long time as well and she went off the rails slightly. Lizzie's the one who you'd have to drag away from homework and force to go out with the small amount of 'friends' she has, Kel is the one you have to force to stay in. Slowly, a buzz of chatter stirred up inside the room and children left to go outside and play. Not Lizzie. Lizzie stayed where she was, finishing her homework and then writing her stories as always. Megan had read a few stories of Lizzie's and thought it was astounding, since she personally had no creative side of her; the endless perfect descriptions about an alien planet where the trees shone silver and brown waters flowed, yet the peace and beauty at the end with her always turned to fire and pain. That's why she had to go to the guidance counsellor, even though they don't have enough people there to help. With no idea about her family, they just assumed it was something to do with the absence of a stable family that caused disturbed thoughts, but Lizzie was never cooperative enough for them to get to the truth about her little head. She didn't seem to care though, because she was fine as she was. She was, right now, acting so asocial that it hurt Megan to watch her sat alone at the dining table. As the children were eating their tea, Lizzie as always accompanied by her small tablet on her knee and Kelsie finally coming in with the stench of not-tobacco smoke around her, there was the sharp ringing of the phone that made all the children perk up. The woman went over and picked it up.  
"Hello?" She asked.  
_"Is this Megan?_ " A man asked.  
"Yea." She said with a slight frown in confusion, because no-one really called up. At the realisation that this was boring, the children went back to eating. That phone was used mainly by the kids for takeaway deliveries which Megan didn't know about until it came to the door. She never had to pay, surprisingly, because Lizzie always did after rolling her eyes at how idiotic the repetitive action was.  
_"I'm John Smith. I'd like to help out at Summerwater, since a friend of mine said you needed someone."_ Megan smiled a bit.  
"Uh, I'll need you to come over so we can talk about it, but I'm always in need of help here."  
_"That's no problem. I can be there whenever you need me."_  
"Great. Tomorrow, 10 o'clock?"  
_"Tomorrow's fine."_ There was the sound of someone putting their plate by the sink and Megan smiled.  
"I'll see you then." They exchanged farewells and Megan hung up. Just as she was entering the kitchen, Lizzie came out "Out so soon?" She asked and Lizzie nodded.  
"Finished tea. I have to help Ms Lawton with her house." The blonde said as she took her coat from the cupboard and shrugged it on "Her knee's messing up again and she can't clean up so I said I'd do it."  
"How much is she paying you?!" Kelsie called and Lizzie sighed.  
"£4 per room I clean!" Lizzie called back to her friend with a roll of her eyes.  
"I could use that." Kel could be heard sighing.  
"That would require you to do work, my dear." Lizzie monotoned and Kelsie groaned. The blonde hugged Megan and then wandered out of the house almost absent-mindedly.

* * *

As the child walked through the streets to Ms Lawton's home, someone was watching her. She couldn't tell that they were, she couldn't tell that she was in danger, but she wasn't yet in danger. That was for later.

The door to Ms Lawton’s was unlocked, as always when Lizzie came over to help, but the blonde still knocked softly “Only me!” She called as she entered.  
"Lizzie!" The woman chirped and Lizzie's face brightened "Everything's where it usually is." The blonde smiled widely.  
"Of course it is, because I always put it there." Lizzie trilled and then practically skipped over to the kitchen and the cleaning stuff before she started to clean up. First was the kitchen, which wasn't really that dirty but she managed to find a hidden spider that she then coaxed out of the kitchen and into the back yard, and then she went to the living room where Ms Lawton was sat on her recliner with a small ice pack on her knee. While she cleaned that room, they chatted about the things they always did; her children in university, the scandal of Mrs Kelly’s daughter being a ‘girl of the other type’, how Mr Scanton hadn't been seen out of his house for a while again. Then again, Mr Scanton was the type of man who would spend months isolated so why Ms Lawton was surprised was a mystery in itself (especially since she knew everyone's business). There wasn't that much of a mess, but Ms Lawton was a very generous woman. She had three children; one of whom was a addict, one in college in America, and one in university in Nottingham. Because of the distance and disconnection, she didn't really have anyone visiting her much, so she loved having Lizzie over. Even if Lizzie was slightly disconnected, she still listened and there was nothing that Ms Lawton needed more than a listener. Maybe a new kneecap, but she could deal with that easily. People thought that Lizzie was weird because of her close friendship to Ms Lawton, but she really liked the elderly woman and would do anything to help her. Literally anything, because she was like an aunt. Lizzie had no-one that she considered family. She only had Megan and Ms Lawton. She didn't consider the other kids as family, they were just kids. Kids come and go in Summerwater. The only constants were Megan and Lizzie. Kel hadn't even been there all the time, had been fostered out multiple times and dropped back in every time. No-one wanted to foster Lizzie, she was told that they just weren't ready for her but she knew that they thought she was weird. From before she could even talk, she was acting weird enough that no-one wanted her. She was weird, that's why only the outcasts hung around with her. Not even the good outcasts who are a bit more like her but the outcasts like Kel. The smokers and the ones who fuck in the park and who have little to no future unless they buck their ideas up.

Ms Lawton asked her, innocently, how school was going and how the children were. Of course, explaining how each individual child in Summerwater was would be more of a chore than clearing up the mess that Ms Lawton and her pups made. It was mainly the pups though. So, rather than go into in depth explanations, she just summed it up as she always did and always would do "They're fine. Crazy, parentless, but fine." And Ms Lawton laughed softly, fondly called Lizzie a strange girl but followed it up with the ever so kind 'just like I was when I was younger'. No offence to the woman, she was sweet and all, but Lizzie didn't want to become like Ms Lawton. She wasn't the type of person a young girl should look up to being. But Lizzie just smiled and nodded along to the old woman's tales of her teenhood and her family and how Lizzie should count herself lucky over one thing or another. Lizzie thought that was a bunch of rubbish, she's not lucky for anything. But she couldn't say that to Ms Lawton, keeping a smile on her face and then moving on to the next room with one of the old woman's pups following her at a leisurely pace as though he didn't really want to be doing it. All the 'pups' were old things, but Lizzie loved them just as much as she loved any animal. All animals, even the ones she'd never seen.

* * *

Stalking behind Lizzie as she walked to Summerwater, the alien sighed and then turned away to try and figure out how to approach this problem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's dumb, boring and smells like shit?
> 
>  
> 
> This fic.  
> I'm sorry that it sucks, I'm really stressed with college and home and I haven't had the motivation to wake up let alone write fics. Thank you for putting up with this :p


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